


Cause and Effect

by Anonymous



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Billy Hargrove Lives, Discipline, Established Relationship, F/M, No Sex, Post-Season/Series 03, Pussy Spanking, Spanking, Step-Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:27:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25575787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Last night when Max had snuck into Billy’s room for his spare car key and some spending money, she didn’t think anything of it. Billy was passed out snoring drunk. So there was no time or need to ask to borrow money or his car. He wasn’t supposed to find out.Max had just wanted to put her new license to good use and show El a good time. No boys, nobody else. Just them and whiskey and a six pack she bought from the gas station on the edge of Hawkins. The clerk there doesn’t care how old you are so long as you slip him some extra money to keep his mouth shut. She didn’t pay attention to what time of the month it is, didn’t think to check to make sure they had six empties between them. Not with them crammed into the backseats and grinding on each other, messy lips and hair as they made out. Billy doesn’t know about that part, but he probably assumes she fucked some guy. Probably Lucas, since he’ll assume the worst. So that explains his blind fury. She’d laugh about it if he didn’t almost have her over his knee.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28
Collections: Anonymous





	Cause and Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise fic drop because I finished this today lol. Yes, it's me, the author of "Pickle Juice" and others. No sex in this, and this fic takes a turn lol. I didn't intend for it to be so serious (I originally planned for Billy to fuck Max, and then changed it to him just fingering her, and then settled on him leaving her high and dry lolol). So hopefully y'all enjoy it? It's better than nothing.

Max flips back to the beginning of the chapter in her textbook when the Camaro rolls up outside. Billy must be done for the day at the body shop he works at. It’s nice when they’re home alone together so they can steal some time and be together. Sure enough, the growl of the engine and low roar of blaring music cut off nearly as one. The driver’s door slams shut. Then nothing until the front door bursts open, bounces off the wall. The whole house seems to shake when Billy smacks it shut, locks it. Somehow he’s already in a foul mood. Max holds her breath for the split second where the house is quiet. As Billy decides where to go first. When he makes a sharp right into his room at the front of the house, she breathes again.

Green-blue eyes glance to her open bedroom door. She thinks about hopping over to flick it closed. To deter Billy from coming in here while he’s in a mood. He’ll no doubt pop in eventually, but probably with an edge. Hands too rough or too mean. Mom and Neil are at the nearest VFW for something. A birthday, a wedding, something. So they’ll be alone the rest of the day, and dinner will probably be late tonight. So Billy won’t pass up an opportunity like this. They so rarely have a moment alone together unless they pile into the Camaro and park in some dark, sketchy place to paw at each other like they’re kids all over again.

Halloween had passed a few days ago. She’s finally 18. Soon she’ll be out of here, probably with Billy in tow. Maybe. He sticks around and pays Neil rent for his room for her sake. He won’t say as much to her face, but Max reads between the lines. Why else would he stay in this hell? She’s the only thing tethering him to this mad house. Billy will want to spring the coop the moment she can, too. They haven’t talked about it yet. Max doesn’t fancy a heavy conversation like that with Billy slamming doors and acting huffy anyway.

It’s quiet in the room next to hers. For all of a few minutes. Long enough for Max to find the page she needs and take notes she’s missing. Through the thin wall that separates them, Billy’s growl of irritation and curse whisper to her. Her heart tumbles inside her. Whatever has set Billy off even more can’t be good. Billy’s boots pound across the hardwood floor and then come to a stop outside her door. Max casts a bored, brief look his way—navy blue work pants, his button-up work shirt rolled to his elbows, grease stain on his name embroidered on a patch—and then returns her attention to her notes. His wild eyes are on her, anger already tinging his neck and center of his face red. Max… thinks she may know what all the fuss is about. Play it cool, she thinks to herself. Maybe it’s not that.

“What do you want?”

Unnoticed until now, Billy’s left hand flashes up holding an envelope. It’s wrinkled, soft all over from repeated handling. Max recognizes it well. It’s where Billy keeps his rent money for Neil, separates it from his paychecks the moment he cashes them so he’s never short. Max’s heart takes another tumble inside her. Neil will be expecting Billy’s money today or tomorrow. And she knows he’s short exactly $50.

“You wanna explain this?” He shakes the envelope in his hand like her neck is under his fingers instead. “Huh?”

Max keeps a straight face, cocks her head just so, and says cooly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

One second, Billy huffs like a smokestack at her doorway. The next, he towers above Max. He’s too fast for Max to even flinch. Lying on her belly like this, Max scrambles to push herself up. Billy slaps the envelope on her nightstand and then throws his hands on her. One in her hair forces her head down while the other slams in the small of her back. When Max grunts for Billy to get off her, to quit, he hikes a knee up. It takes the place of his hand in her back to pin her down. He’s just barely out of reach of her nails, although that doesn’t stop Max from looping an arm behind her to scratch at his wrist in her hair.

“Fucking knock it off, Billy!”

“I’m gonna knock your head off is what I’m gonna do,” he hisses down at her. Messy, red locks in her face prevent her from staring Billy’s fury full in the face. She hears the enraged spit on his lips, though. “Did you actually steal from me, Max? Oh and did you think I wouldn’t notice the beer cans in my car?” He tugs her hair. “Huh?!”

Ah shit.

“I didn’t—!”

It’s the most she gets out. Because Billy swears under his breath, growling, and yanks Max off her belly.

“Let me go!”

“Not a chance,” he spits. “You’re lying right to my face, thought I taught you to never lie to me.”

They haven’t fought like this in years. Grunting and hissing and spitting at each other as Max throws all her feeble strength against Billy’s iron. Last night when Max had snuck into Billy’s room for his spare car key and some spending money, she didn’t think anything of it. Billy was passed out snoring drunk. So there was no time or need to ask to borrow money or his car. He wasn’t supposed to find out.

Max had just wanted to put her new license to good use and show El a good time. No boys, nobody else. Just them and whiskey and a six pack she bought from the gas station on the edge of Hawkins. The clerk there doesn’t care how old you are so long as you slip him some extra money to keep his mouth shut. She didn’t pay attention to what time of the month it is, didn’t think to check to make sure they had six empties between them. Not with them crammed into the backseats and grinding on each other, messy lips and hair as they made out. Billy doesn’t know about that part, but he probably assumes she fucked some guy. Probably Lucas, since he’ll assume the worst. So that explains his blind fury. She’d laugh about it if he didn’t almost have her over his knee. 

Billy’s thigh knocks the air out of Max when his ugly fingers tangled in her hair drag her that much closer. Max claws at his work clothes to scratch him, considers jamming her elbow into his crotch. Behind her, Max’s little legs kick uselessly, only managing to knock her textbook and notes to the floor with a pathetic splat of the pages. Billy controlling her with that mean grip in her hair limits how much she struggles. He knows she’s tender headed, the prick, so he knows he has her. It’s not until Billy tucks thick fingers in the back of her jeans and panties and rips them down her thighs that she catches on to his ploy. Max gets her knees under her as Billy shifts, reaches for something back by her nightstand. The first clap of wood meeting skin—her hairbrush smacking into her ass—seals her fate.

A shrill scream and then, “Billy stop! That hurts!”

Pop, pop. Max’s knees buckle, and she falls hard onto Billy’s thighs.

“Good, I’m glad! I oughta wring your fucking neck for stealing from me.” Two more blows, these ones peppered on the back of her pale thighs. “You must be one stupid bitch to think I wouldn’t notice.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Harder blows rain down on the plush underside of her ass. Each one connects with an echo. “Billy!” 

“Just keep it up, Max, just keep lying to me, that’s fine.” Again and again, harder each time until Max screams in his hands. “I can sit here all day and beat your ass until you can’t sit, that’s fine!”

Max jumps across Billy’s thighs with another blow. With her heart hammering a mile a minute, Max can’t decide if Billy’s hand would be better or worse than the smooth back of her hairbrush. The longer he hits her, grunting and yanking her back into position, the more the pain spreads out. Slowly at first, faster when Billy’s strikes start to overlap. When he lays down three, bruising blows to her ass, Max writhes in his hand to escape again. Billy’s fingers in her hair don’t let her go too far, only allow her to flinch. She can’t even get her knees under her. Her jeans and panties are too tight around her knees for her to use them. That and the pain is too bright, has her gasping and flopping like a fish out of water. Max only catches her breath when Billy’s strikes slow. The woodgrain of her brush pets roughly over Max’s ass instead of lifting away, spreading the ache around.

Head turned out towards her open door, Max pants, “Stop, stop you’re hurting me, Billy.”

“You’re lucky I don’t do worse,” he snaps, smacks her again just to hear her cry out. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Max? It’s one thing to steal money from me, but taking it from my rent? Come the fuck on.”

“I didn’t,” she whimpers, unable to admit her wrong. She gets it now, the poor timing of all this. She hasn’t stolen so much as a cigarette from him in years. It was stupid, so fucking stupid. He’ll hate her if she admits the truth. “Billy stop…”

Under his breath he grumbles, “I can’t believe you, shitbird. I woulda just given you money to blow on whatever stupid thing you bought. You know that.” His hand tightens in her hair, but he doesn’t hit her again. Not yet. Lowly, he says, “You know I’d give you anything if you asked.” 

The words threaten to garrote her heart. Whether Billy means to let her hear that vulnerable admission, how deeply she’s betrayed him, she isn’t sure. Max goes to open her mouth to spill the truth, but Billy’s anger beats her to it. Harder blows like earlier. They jar every soft inch on her as Max’s strength wanes. The pain dulls now but sinks so deeply into her like holding a chunk of ice in her hand. Milky skin glowing bright red, Max is numb from her ass to her thighs. And Billy doesn’t stop when she starts to sniffle and cry.

“Okay! Okay, I took $50 from you, I’m sorry!”

The scream that pops out of her shreds her voice. Billy leaves the hairbrush where it strikes her, pressing the pain deeper.

“You’ll be sorry when I’m done with you,” he promises. “Why did you steal from me? And don’t fucking lie.”

Now is when his fingers twisted in her hair turn gentle. They don’t quite pet her. She hasn’t earned that yet. No, Billy’s blind rage still bubbles just under his surface. Max knows to tread lightly. He absolutely will make good on his threats. There’s no one home to hear her scream for him to stop. She knows he won’t do anything permanent. Just… Billy’s overwhelming sense of betrayal is enough to cow her attitude. She hadn’t meant to screw him over. There was nothing malicious in her thievery. She just wanted to have a good time with El, to do something normal for once instead of fuck her brother. He doesn’t have a lot of time for her anymore, what with his job and him trying to stay out of the house as much as possible. She gets lonely sometimes.

Sniffling ugly and wet, Max huddles across Billy’s thighs and admits, “I bought some beer and a bottle of whisky.”

A smack to her thigh.

“Did you spend it all or did you keep the change?”

Her hand trembles something awful when she pries it away from Billy’s leg. Little fingers are almost numb from how hard they’d gripped the blue material of his work pants. Max points to her vanity where the pile of change and bills rests. She has about $10 left over from the bill she broke at the gas station.

“I-I was gonna pay you back, honest, I thought-I thought I could get the money back to you before you noticed.”

“Yea, pretty dumb of you, huh?” She barely feels the two, quick blows he peppers to both cheeks. “So, you stole the money, bought booze. And you took my car to do it, thanks for bringing it back in once piece I guess. So who did you fuck in it?”

“No one,” is out of her mouth before she can stop herself.

“Stop lying!”

Max’s screams bounce off the white walls of her room as Billy shoves her head down and rains blow after blow upon her sore bottom. Each one sends her jerking forward in his lap, but his hand in her hair tugs her right back where he wants her. Distantly, she thinks he’s hard. It makes sense what with her squirming across his dick with every smack he gives her. Through her tears and the scratch of her throat from crying, Max can’t even be mad at him. Not with her betrayal thick between them. Not with Billy’s fury actually real this time. His disappointment. 

Not like she can think straight anyway. The pain in her backside is thick, dribbles slowly through her skin until it sinks to the very core of her. She’s aroused, too, although it shames her. Billy isn’t doing this out of some power move or to excite her with his violence. He’s legitimately pissed off, so she tries not to move around so much. At least the truth, that she fooled around with El, won’t send him over the edge. Not like Lucas or another boy. Billy’s possessive streak is strange in that regard.

Max almost hiccups when she pleads, “I’m sorry, it was El! I was with El, please stop, I’m not lying, please Billy…”

He huffs above her, finally tosses the hairbrush away. The subtle vibrations of it bouncing where it lands have Max whimpering for whatever will come next. She even flinches when Billy’s left hand settles on her thigh just below the glow he’s beaten into her. 

He is quiet. The uncomfortable sort that carries weight. Choking. Max makes sure to stay absolutely still despite how she wants to tremble under his hands. More so when the left starts to pet the heat in her ass, her thigh.

“So was she good?”

It’s not a joke. He would pinch her or have a smirk laced into those words. No, this is still part of Max’s interrogation. The blows would continue, even with his bare hand, if the notion of her and Eleven fooling around pissed him off. He’s still not happy about it, though. Max must tread carefully, must not volunteer more information than is asked. But be swift in that response. He’ll know she’s lying.

Bottom lip in her teeth and alive with shame, Max says, “Yes.”

Billy’s right hand in her hair joins the fun, pets her like she’s done a good thing. Max knows it’s not enough but waits for Billy to prod for more. He always wants more.

Billy’s left hand squeezes tender, burning flesh when he grumbles, “So you enjoyed your little joy ride?”

Max’s stomach bottoms out like she’s missed steps going down. It’s a rhetorical question, but she must answer. She doesn’t fancy not being able to sit down at school or having to explain a limp.

“Yes.”

She can’t help the flinch that ripples through her when Billy slips his hand free from her hair. Her only comfort drifts down to join its brother on her ass. Quiet blankets them again except for Max’s sharp breath sucked in through her teeth as Billy’s hands pry her open. He hums as he stares at her, and Max gives him a wiggle. Maybe to give him a show or to lessen the burn in her ass from his touch. She isn’t sure, just jumps again and whines when a cool stream of air blows between her legs. Billy’s crude fingers dig deeper down to force her thighs open a little. So he can see everything. Max’s face lights up hotter than her beaten ass when Billy hums again. This one is pleased. She’s aroused, slippery and sticky despite the pain. It’s all for Billy, and he knows it.

Max knows this isn’t over by a long shot when the world goes topsy turvy. She flinches and yelps when Billy wrestles her off his thighs and drags her to the bamboo of her headboard. Jeans and panties caught about her legs, Max tries not to kick them as she goes. Billy will go right back to beating her ass if he thinks she’s resisting now. That doesn’t stop Max’s feeble bucking as Billy situates them at the headboard. It’s not comfortable to lean against, but Billy makes no objection as he tugs Max to his chest. A hiss leaks out of Max when her ass brushes the front of Billy’s work pants. He’s still hard. She won’t complain about the rough treatment as his callused hands wrap around her upper arms to yank her into his lap, between his spread legs. At least he’s nice enough to toe off his disgusting work boots. He kicks her jeans and panties the rest of the way off, too, until Max is bare except for her t-shirt. A wild shiver runs through her where she puddles against Billy’s iron and heat, trapped under his hands that pet up and down her thighs. The reach is a bit awkward, but he’ll have no problem playing with her. He smells like engine oil and sweat.

Lips tickle the shell of her ear when Billy drawls, “Now, paint me a picture, dear sister of mine.” His fingers dig into her inner thighs when she flinches. They keep her open, warning her to play nice. “I think you owe me that much after all the trouble you caused. I wanna know exactly what you and that freaky girl got up to in my car with my money.”

The heat in Max’s face is almost unbearable. Trembling, Max turns her head away from Billy’s wicked lips. Refusal isn’t her intention, but Billy takes it that way. He gives a deep, warning grumble and pinches the top of her thigh. Her hairbrush lies nestled against his leg. He’ll pick it up and use it, she knows that.

Pressing her weight hard into Billy’s chest, Max mumbles, “I-I picked her up from Dustin’s house. Joyce doesn’t like her and Will to stay with the Wheelers when they visit, um…”

Another pinch and, “You’re stalling.”

Max whips her head around, forgetting herself, and growls, “I’m not!”

Her legs are already splayed wide between his. She meets Billy’s narrowed stare as his left hand comes down hard between her legs, thick fingers smacking her right in her clit. Billy holds his hand there for Max’s inevitable buck. The surprised squeal she lets out is probably music to his ears. He guides her trembling body right back down after that initial flinch. The moment her ass rests against him, he smacks her again. The shock of it, the immediate buzz that spreads from the impact makes her lightheaded. So she huddles into him, slumping all her weight on Billy’s chest, and goes limp.

Right arm curled around Max’s waist, Billy hikes her back up his body and purrs, “So you’re in my car with Weird Girl, you have the booze. What happened?”

“We… started drinking,” Max says lightly, still trembling from the shock. Billy’s hand is still snug between her legs. 

“And?”

His hand gives a warning twitch, play nice, and Max wiggles in his hold. Chin in her chest, Max blinks misty eyes down her body. He’s only smacked her pussy twice, but she bets he’ll do it again. She’ll be red all over from his hands, burning and numb. She’s torn between rambling off some bullshit to make him hit her again or spitting the truth out. Max’s hesitation is too much for Billy, and he takes the choice away from her with two, swift smacks. Max’s slim hips buck up with her loud cry. Billy is there to catch her, squeezes tender flesh in his hand to spread the pain around. He pays her trembling and whimpers no mind while massaging her. It’s almost tender. Almost.

“Max,” purrs long and low in her ear, a warning.

Max’s hands are tight in her sheets under them when she whines, “We started making out. She’s only ever kissed Mike, so she didn’t know how to do anything. So I, so I showed her what to do.”

Max throws her head back into Billy’s shoulder when his hand comes down again. It’s a different sort of pain than him spanking her ass. He can’t spread the strikes around, keeps hitting her in the same spot over and over. It hurts more, his hand finding bone under pink skin and coarse hair. That’s not enough for Billy to soften his blows, and Max’s head swims after every hit. Her thighs fall open as if to welcome him to beat her harder. She doesn’t know what she wants anymore as Billy scratches his fingers through her short hairs. That’s like clothes rubbing on sunburn, and she writhes a little in his arms to get away. Another sharp slap has her going boneless against him. Distantly, Max thinks she feels her pulse thunder between her legs. Either thanks to Billy’s hand or maybe she’s just that aroused, who knows. 

Billy goes back to squeezing and fondling her, spreading the pain deeper, when he murmurs, “Get to the point, Max.”

Max dares to rub herself on Billy’s hand. He allows it, even shifts to rub his thumb up and down the seam of her. With so many harsh blows to her pussy, Max’s clit is plenty hard and buzzing already. Billy doesn’t pay it direct attention, just strokes his thumb nice and slow. Up down, up down.

“We were making out and-and I pushed El down in the backseats to eat her out.”

“Yea? How was it?”

Billy’s thumb swipes faster over her when Max arches into him. Anything to get him to keep touching her.

“She’s, she um, no one’s ever gone down on her, so she was nervous.” Max shudders hard against Billy’s chest as she tries not to rub herself against his thumb too much. Head tipped back on his shoulder, Max blinks mist out of her eyes and sighs, “She was so pretty when she came. She grabbed my hair and made all these cute noises.”

She almost wishes Billy would kiss her when he murmurs against her throat, “Is that all?”

“N-no, she wanted to touch me too, so I let her. She was really shy, she um wouldn’t look at me, but she wanted to make me feel good too.”

Max’s body snaps taut like a bow about to snap when Billy hits her again. No reason, just because, the bastard. It hurts even more now with her skin so tender, with so much time between Billy’s last strike. Max sucks in loud breaths through her teeth to not scream. She knows he’s annoyed she fucked anyone else, isn’t wailing on her because El is a girl. Maybe he’s just mad she let El go down on her, who knows. Billy is dangerous when he’s possessive, and that danger grabs a handful of her and squeezes until she whimpers.

Possessive side rearing its head, Billy almost growls when he asks, “Did she make you come?”

She knows what comes next, knows this is just another mark against her. So Max tries not to tense when she nods and mumbles, “Yes.”

Billy’s fingers raining down hard in a quick one, two, three steal Max’s next breath. When Max’s thighs twitch shut out of reflex, Billy hikes her open with a harsh jerk. He has to drop his right arm from her waist, but he needs it to stop her squirming around. She’s rubbing herself into his dick again, but Max can’t care about that as Billy keeps her open and smacks her harder, faster. Just like her ass, the delicate skin between her legs takes on a pink blush. Darker, darker still as Billy doesn’t let up until she’s bright red all the way around from his violence.

A pretty, twinkling yelp from cherry lips follows on the heels of every slap of skin-on-skin. Max jumps with each strike, too, accidentally rubbing even harder on the erection poking her burning backside. Just like when Billy drives her crazy and toys with her too long, a terrible hollowness opens in her, needing something to fill her up. Shame washing over her, Max’s face is as bright as her hair. It’s unbearably hot but so shameful at the same time. How could she have ever known that Billy touching her like this would feel so good and bad at the same time? When Billy hums in her ear, draws his hand away with his fingers a little shiny, Max knows he’ll never let her live it down.

“Well,” he sighs, “at least you had fun. Not sure how the fuck you were gonna pull $50 outta your ass to pay me back, but at least it was worth it.” He dips his hand back down, shoves his fingers through pink folds to gather up slick, and then pops Max hard a few more times. It stings most at her clit, makes her throb like he’s played with her for hours, not letting her come. “Being spanked like a kid again was totally worth it, right Max?”

Oh… he’s still mad? But why? Isn’t beating her like this enough? Max would scowl at Billy if not for him shoving her out of his lap. She nearly tumbles ass over tea kettle as he makes his brisk departure. He lingers only long enough to wipe his hand on her thigh. Flopping on her hands and knees, Max throws a wild, annoyed look Billy’s way. Because he didn’t need to shove her out of his lap like a used hamburger wrapper. He stands there adjusting himself in his pants, still hard, and offers her a tight smile. The sort of smiles Neil aims at them when he’s this-close to popping a gasket. It’s almost chilling to see on Billy’s face. Max’s bravado drains out of her so fast it leaves her breathless, scrambling for the edge of her bed.

“W-wait, what-where are you going? You’re not gonna…?”

Her face heats right back up when she asks that. If he’s going to fuck her or not. Because she wants him to, needs something to fill the emptiness. It hurts, she’s so aroused. Even sitting like this on her knees shifts the burning sting between her legs from Billy’s hand. She wants more, needs more than just the flat of his fingers smacking against her clit. So when Billy’s tight smile persists with a shrug of his shoulders, she can’t help but cower a little more. Why is he still mad?

“Billy… You’re still mad?”

“Yea, I’m still fucking mad!” He grits his teeth at her to not raise his voice any higher. “Not so mad that I wanna strangle you, but still pretty mad. You can’t do this kind of shit, Max. You know Dad would love to kick me out with one misstep. That’s all it would take, and I’d be fucked. You think I wanna sleep in my car? Cuz that’s where I’d end up.”

“I’m sorry! You know I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Yea, well, unfortunately for both of us, you still don’t understand what the word ‘consequences’ means.” Billy huffs and shakes his head, genuinely disappointed with her. She sees it now, and it reaches right into her chest and squeezes her heart in a fist. “You were always running around and doing shit as a kid without a care, and I was the one who got my ass beat over it. I shoulda been spanking you a lot sooner, if I’m being honest. Felt good. But I’m still mad. So no, I’m not gonna stick around and fuck you. Clearly you don’t need me to get off.”

It’s mostly about the money, and she gets that. Maybe her spending time with Eleven is just one too many drops in the bucket. Max doesn’t regret it; she just wishes she’d been smarter about it. Because it’s one thing to have Billy pissed off and yelling at her. That’s like breathing in this house. His real disappointment though? After they’ve been calm and actually nice to each other for years? That stings. There has to be a way she can make it up to him. So Max crawls to the edge of her bed and angles a pitiful look up at him.

“I’m sorry,” she says for what feels like the hundredth time. “I mean it, I know I fucked up. I wasn’t thinking, you’re right.”

Arms crossed over his chest, Billy murmurs, “Go on.”

Bottom lip in her teeth, Max’s shoulders hunch when she offers, “Apology blowjob?”

His voice leaks out, annoyed, when he exhales. Blue eyes close softly like Billy is considering it. Choking quiet blankets them again, and Max’s insides curdle with it. When will he forgive her? Does he actually hate her for all those times she’d fucked him over? She… she didn’t mean it, she was just a kid trapped with Neil like him. Acting out like that was her only means of escape and rebellion. He knows that, was just as shitty as she was. Still… He’s right. She’s not the one who got slapped around and beaten for her crimes. He was always her whipping boy.

“Billy… I’m sorry.”

When those blue eyes open, they’re hard. Disappointed in the way they narrow at her. Max’s poor offer of a blowjob and her ass beaten bright red won’t easily heal her betrayal. She probably shouldn’t have offered, really. 

So it’s no surprise to Max, just painful, when Billy murmurs, “Stay the fuck away from me for a few days. And you’re gonna pay me back.”

She thinks to run her mouth, to cry she’s sorry again. Something, anything. Billy just scowls at her, swipes his boots up from the floor, and then marches out. He doesn’t need to yank her door shut behind him, but he does it anyway. Just another layer between them. Still on her knees on her bed, the change from the $50 draws Max’s eyes. Billy hadn’t even taken that back. If not for his warning to stay away, Max knows she’d scoop it up and run to his room. But she won’t. His warning is loud and clear. So despite her aching backside and the hollowness in her, Max slumps into her pillows and curls up mostly naked like that. Billy’s disappointment is too much for Max to pursue the arousal going sour in her. 

Billy won’t even look at her when they all assemble at the dinner table in a charade of familiarity. Sitting is tricky. Hours later and she’s still sore, skin still tender to the softest touch. A cold shower hadn’t helped while Billy’s music vibrated through the house. To drown out the dour mood between them. No matter how Max tries to catch Billy’s eyes or coax him into the meaningless conversation, he just grunts and goes right on eating. The longer his silence and dismissal of her go on, the smaller Max feels. The heat of Billy’s anger hasn’t burned her like this in years, and Max finds that her hide can’t take it like it used to. Not after seeing the mellow, almost gentle side of him for so long. So she’s desperate in the middle of the night, stomach in knots, when she stands outside his bedroom door and whispers his name. She knows he’s awake.

The door cracks open, Billy’s face pinched with irritation appearing through the shadows. 

“I said stay away from me, shitbird.”

“Do you hate me now?”

If the question surprises him, Billy doesn’t let it show. He sighs with his voice heavy in his breath like earlier. Max hates that sound. 

“No, I don’t fucking hate you. You’d know if I did.” He opens the door wider, gets a hand on Max’s shoulder to push her into the darkness of the living room. “Go back to bed, I’m not done being pissed off at you.”

“When are you gonna stop being mad?”

Billy scoffs to himself.

“You’re 18 and yet still a dumb, little kid. I give you the cold shoulder for a few hours and you think I hate you.”

“I’m sorry, okay?!” she whines. She crowds back to the crack in Billy’s bedroom door, staring at the center of his chest, and pleads, “I won’t do it again, Billy, I promise, I know it was a shitty thing to do. I don’t want you to get kicked out, I didn’t mean it like that.”

He sighs again, pulls the door open again, and grabs her again. Max’s breath knocks out of her when Billy tugs her to his chest. He buries a hand in her hair like earlier, only he’s not mean about it now. He doesn’t hold her like she wants him to. Just stands there shirtless while she presses herself flush to him.

“Guess you finally learned your lesson this time,” he murmurs deeply in her hair. “Not fun when you have to face the consequences for you fuck up, huh?”

“I just don’t want you to hate me like you used to,” she pleads. Her forehead brushes over Billy’s skin, his scars, but he’s so far away. 

Weight on her hair, Billy’s cheek resting on her, and then he sighs, “I said I don’t hate you. I’m just gonna be mad at you until I’m not, okay?”

Max swallows hard and nods against his chest.

“You’re still gonna take me with you when you leave, right?”

Finally, finally his thick arm wraps around her waist. It’s like a breath of fresh air after plummeting to the bottom of a pool. She almost sags weightless against him but thinks better of it. The walls in this house are thin. Neil or Mom could come upstairs from their bedroom to investigate. So instead, Max loops her arms around Billy and squeezes him tightly. If only she could paint her apology into his skin so he would know how much she regrets the timing of this. Taking his car and fucking El aren’t a part of her regret. Just the screwing him over part. He knows that, though. They’re not the type to regret. If they were going to regret something, then they shouldn’t have done it. Still, Max shudders in Billy’s arm as the night creeps in on them. He won’t let her stay, she knows that. She’s just glad he doesn’t hate her again.

“I think if I tried to leave without you, you’d just track me down.”

Amusement tints his voice. Enough to calm Max’s panic over all this. So when Billy drops his hands from her and nudges her back a step, she goes without a fight. He even meets her eyes when she flashes him a tiny smile.

Tucking hair behind her ear, she says quietly, “Yea, probably.” Another glance, and they hold this one. “I’ll make it up to you, taking your rent money. I promise…” She bites her lip, though, one worry about that lingering. “So you don’t have enough to pay Neil?”

Billy sniffs in the dark, says, “I’ve got emergency money stashed away. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. I’m gonna pay you back, I mean it.”

“I know you will.” A yawn. “Now get the fuck outta my room and go back to sleep.”

She needs a little bit more, though. Just some sweetness until Billy warms up to her again. She gives it a few days before he seeks her out to take the edge off. The walls of this house can’t contain them; they need to break loose sometimes. It’s why they need each other. No one understands her like Billy and vice versa. It’s that need for understanding and his sweetness that guides Max’s hands through the dark to take Billy’s jaw and tug him down. Just for a little kiss, just a quick peck. He even allows it, although once it’s done he shoves her hard enough to make her stumble. It’s a playful sort of shove like a lion batting at one of its cubs playing too rough. 

“Don’t push your luck. Go to bed.”

She does, turns back to her room with a soft, “Good night… Love you.”

They don’t say it that often. They’d never said it before Billy finally woke up after Starcourt. Max was surprised at the time, face buried in the hospital gown covering Billy’s chest as she cried, when he pet her hair and said it. The scars under her cheek and the thin, wispy ones on his ugly fingers didn’t matter as she grabbed his hand and cradled it to her cheek. He didn’t even poke fun at her for getting snot on him, just thumbed pesky tears off her cheeks until she stopped. And then she said it back, meant it, and knew she would never let him go again. Sleep will finally come to her knowing Billy doesn’t hate her again. It’ll be better once he’s not mad, once he touches her and holds her again. Climbing back into her lonely bed, Max already knows she’ll want to sleep next to him when everything cools off. She’s lonely with him closed off, but it won’t be for long. He’ll always come back to her.


End file.
